Stranger..? What Stranger..?

My son has never met a stranger. Ever. ANYWHERE. To say the child is a social creature would be a gross understatement…And he LOVES the ladies. Old ladies, young ladies, middle-aged ladies, short ladies, tall ladies, skinny ladies, overweight ladies….he loves ’em all!
It started at about 5 or 6 months old. I hadn’t been to a yard sales in ages, and on the way to somewhere, I saw a sign YARD SALE! TODAY ONLY! LOTS OF KID STUFF! and an address. Now I love me a bargain, clearance racks, (hubby will tell you I have radar for the clearance racks, and that I just can’t resist ’em…and I hafta say, he’s right *grin*), thrift stores, (although not really a fan of Goodwill-since the young dude in the commercials got popular, they’ve become a bit ostentatious), and Yard Sales. Why buy one thing for $50 when I can get a whole big bag of goodies for the same $50?
So, I pointed my vehicle in the direction the sign indicated and off we went. It was a nice spring like day, not too hot, sun shining, mild breeze. It would be my boy’s first yard sale! We got to the address indicated on the sign. It was a decent looking house in an almost swanky neighborhood (I’m sure you know the kind I mean…). I parked & got the baby out. I had my purse on one shoulder and my boy on one hip, as we crossed the street and headed up the driveway to the garage where everything was on display. There were two young girls manning the helm, probably 15-17, cute in the way teen-aged girls are. We walked up one side of a table, and around the end. One of the girls spoke “Hi! Oh what a cute baby (This or some variation is heard on a regular basis, even today, any time we venture out in public)! How old is he?” Shayne obligingly looked cute and smiled at her. “Thanks. He’s 5months (approx).” And I started back down the other side of the table. This child…5 months old, what does he know of boys & girls..? then proceeds to twist himself in my arms and attempted to LAUNCH himself at this girl. Arms up in a ‘don’t you just wanna squeeze me to pieces’ gesture, big smile on his face, and eyes on the target (her). He almost made it. Luckily I had a good hold on him. The girls, of course, just giggled and “How cute”ed, meanwhile I’m doing my best not to drop the boy or my purse or myself (he was pretty strong, and he caught me off-guard).
Thus it began.
From the time he could sit up in a cart, anytime a female (occasionally a male, too if I’m being honest) came in range, they were fair game for :The Charm of The Boy”. It started with grins and waves (“Oh what a darling little boy you have” “Thank you”). He’d hold those chubby little arms out to them…mainly elderly women at first…he loves him some hugs & kisses! (I’m actually kinda concerned this will get him in trouble once he starts school…)
The there came speech. He could now talk. And did. And does. Almost incessantly. And he loves almost everyone, and expects everyone to love HIM back. We stroll through the aisles of Wal-mart to the joyous refrains of “Hi! What’s your name? My name’s Shayne. I’m (insert age here). My birthday is December 13. I’ll be (insert age here) on my birthday. When’s your birthday? Do you have kids? How old are they? What are their names…?” And on & on & on it goes. We spent 30 minutes in the frozen food aisle talking to “Millie & Walt” one day. I have no idea who Millie & Walt are, never seen ’em before, haven’t seen ’em since. He got hugs & kisses before I was allowed to finish shopping. I’m fairly certain that even now, almost a year later, they are still telling friends & family about the “friendliest child I’ve ever met”. This happens on almost every trip to anywhere there are other people.
As he gets older, I’ve noticed a gravitation to younger, prettier women. Not girls per se, but women from about 15 to roughly 40-45…Older women still get their share, high-fives, hugs, “Hi! What’s your name? I’m Shayne…” He’s not actually excluding men, yet, but they are a definite minority. Unless they’re with a pretty girl…well that’s not fair, my son thinks all women are pretty, and isn’t a bit shy to say so (although, this flattery thing…hmmmmmm).
Two weeks ago, we went to Wally World to get groceries, and other assorted sundry items we needed. We were almost through (only an hour and a half…some kinda record!) when I remembered I needed to check and see if they had a 12ish” X 9ish” cookie sheet type pan that I could use in my toaster oven. Dammmmm!!!! So off to the other side of the store we went. (The major disadvantage to having a store that carries everything…it’s HUGE) As we rounded the corner by the baking pans, my boy hit pay dirt. There was a young girl, probably 16-23, with an older man, probably her grandfather.
“Hi! What’s your name?”
Now my boy ain’t no dummy. As a matter-of-fact, I’d say he’s smarter than a 5 year old should be in these matters. This comment wasn’t directed at the pretty girl, oh no, he made friends with GRANDPA first. He’s got his game on – most males don’t figure out that the “parental units” or in this case “grandparental units” must approve for things to go smoothly, until much MUCH later in life. Not my boy. (I’m so proud, but have a sneaking suspicion I shouldn’t be…). He started a conversation with the gentleman, then made his (becoming) signature request –

hand held above his head* “High-five..?” All males love a high-five. This man was no exception, he fell to The Charm of The Boy in about 10 seconds flat. He was grinning like a kid, holding & shaking Shayne’s hand, and of course the requisite “Oh what a handsome young man you have there” in my general direction, “And isn’t he friendly?” (gee, ya think..?).

Now, his granddaughter had, obligingly stopped when he did. The boy now kicked it into high gear. “Hi!” directed at the girl “She sure is pretty” said with a beautiful smile, directed at her grandfather and me, (but loud enough for her to hear.) Of course she melted. A young lady, blushing from a compliment given by a 5 year old, and grinning from ear. (helloooo..? he’s 5)
We stood there for another couple minutes, then I tried to make good my escape “Well, gotta get to the checkout – frozen stuffs and all.” As we began to walk away, The Charmer swooped in for the kill “I want a hug..” said in a plaintive way, while looking toward the girl, arms outstretched in her direction.
You know he got it…and a kiss…
I tried to warn her

At The Dentist’s Office

Cruisin’ at the Family Picnic

With the Teenagers (yes, they’re all female, and he was right in the middle of them!)

He’s in his element…can you tell..?

“Watch him, he knows exactly what he’s doing…I think he’s perfecting his style early…” She just laughed and walked away. I fear for the women of the world in about 10-20 years….

I just wanted to say thank you for visiting my blog, healthtohome.net. You mentioned having a recipe similar to my “Manwich Noodles” recipe. Would you mind sharing? My family loves the version I make (well, except the youngest. But then again he always been difficult!), and I’m sure they would like a little change-up now and again. If you’d like to email it to me, you can send it to Shawn@healthtohome.net. I’ll definitely be back to read more in your blog! I really enjoyed reading the story about your son and strangers!

My Visitors – Welcome!

About Me

I am a 41 - oops, not anymore! - 42 year old witch - yes, witch, not b*tch spelled nicely :) Despite general perceptions, we live a pretty ordinary life, as you'll see if you stick around... I have been married to my perfect match for 9WE MADE 10! years, and I have 4 kids - Jenetta 23 almost 25, Tony 22 23, his wife Jayme 21 22, and Shayne 5 6 (going on 16...). There are also grandkids involved - Jordan who is 1 2 and Anakin who was born the end of Feb. last year and is now 2!